Game apparatus



Dec. 15, 1942.

G. P. ALDERMAN EIAL GAME APPARATUS Filed March 13, 1942 Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,305,463 GAME APPARATUS George I. Alderman and Herbert H. Fredrick, Holyoke, Mass. 1

Application March 13, 1942, Serial No. 434,488 I 4 Claims. (01. 273-94) This invention relates to an improvement in game apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus usable in that class of games which simulate contests such as football, baseball, hockey, and the like.

Prior devices for this purpose have for the most part been quite complicated, particularly where the players are called upon to match judgments in the selection of plays, and where the moves on the playing board are dependent in part at least on the result of the skill of the players in selecting and anticipating plays rather than upon chanc alone. It is one object of the present invention to provid a much simplified structure capable of operation in the above manner. A further object is to provide a device of the character described in which aknowledge of, and skill in, the game simulated may be made a more direct factor in the results obtained. Other and further objects residing in the details of the construction will be apparent from the following specification and claims. I

In the accompanying drawing which illustratively embodies the invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified form of playing field with corresponding relocation of some of the parts.

Referring to Fig. 1, the device is shown as comprising a frame I supporting top and bottom panels I l and I2 respectively, which with the sides of the frame form a shallow box. The upper panel I I is provided at I4 with a representation of the playing field of the game to be simulated. In the case illustrated, I4 shows a football gridiron. To one side of the gridiron, panel II is formed with two openings I5 and I6, forming bearings in which vertical spindles I1 and I8 are respectively mounted for free rotation. The upper ends of the spindles are provided with respective knobs I9 and 20 by which the spindles may be manually rotated. The lower ends of the spindles I1 and I8 extend below panel II and are provided with disks 2| and 22 respectively. The disks are secured to the spindles in any suitable manner as by hubs 23 and screws 24.

The spindles and their disks are so arranged that the peripheries of the latter are closely adjacent, or approximately tangent, as indicated at 25. Each disk is provided around and adjacent its periphery with indicia such as a series of numbers as indicated at 25 the numbers being out, stencil fashion, through the material of the disks. Immediately above the point 25 the panel II is provided with an opening 28 of sufiicient area to encompass a number carried by each disk. As

play indicia.

will be evident, different settings of the disks will present different combinations of numbers to the opening 28, the combination in each instance comprising a number from each disk. The opening 28 is provided with a translucent screen 29 which normally hides from view the number combination brought together beneath the openings by the manipulation of knobs l9 and 23. To render the number combination visible at the will of the players, we provide an electric light bulb 30, positioned beneath the disks 2| and 22 and in alignment with the opening 28. The degree of translucency of the screen- 29 and the position of the light bulb 3B and the intensity of the light emitted by the bulb are such that when bulb 30 is illuminated, an image of the cutout numbers on the disks immediately above is thrown on the screen 29, and the numbers of the combination appear asluminous characters on the upper surface of the screen, as indicated by dotted lines at 3| in Fig. 1.

Current is supplied to bulb 30 by one or more dry batteries 32, of the flash light variety, which are in circuit with the bulb and are supported in a cylindrical member 33, which is provided at its inner end with a socket 34 for the bulb 30. The cylinder 33 is supported cantilever fashion from the side of frame Ill, and the outer end is provided with a push button switch 35 which closes the circuit containing the bulb and batteries. It will be seen that the light, batteries, circuit and switch may be contained in the cylinder as a unit similar to a conventional flash light construction and this arrangement has advantages in economy. of construction and assembly of the device.

Radially inwardly of the numbers 26, each'disk is provided with a series of indicia 36 indicating various football plays such. as a forward, or lateral pass, or running plays through guard, tackle, etc., or around end. Each number on the disk is diametrically associated with one of the The panel I I is provided with a pair of play selecting openings3'i, one for each disk through which the player operating the adjacent knob l9 may view the'indicia and by turning the knob make a selection of a play. In bringingthe selected indicium into register with the'opening 31, the number associated with it is invisibly positioned beneath screen 29.

In one manner of operation the player representing the team having the ball selects a play which the location of the ball, the number of the down, and the sequence of preceding plays would in his judgment be the proper play for the. given situation. He then manipulates the knob 19 to bring the selected play into registry With the adjacent Window 37. The opposing player, making his own diagnosis of the situation and taking into consideration the previous selections made by his opponent, manipulates knob 23 to'bring the play he believes his opponent has chosen into registry with the window 36 above his own disk. As a result of the two selections made and the corresponding setting of the disks 2| and 22, two numbers have been positioned below the screen 29 and switch button is now pressed, lighting bulb 30, thus revealing the resulting number combination on the screen.

The surface of panel II is provided with a chart 39 which lists the various number combinations which may result from the disk settings, and opposite each number on the chart is given the appropriate result of the play such as, a gain or loss of a given number of yards, interception or incompletion of a pass, etc. A movable marker such as 40 is moved on the gridiron in accordance with the directions of the chart. In general the chart is so arranged that the closer the defensive player has come to guessing the play chosen by the offense, the smaller the gain or the larger the loss which will result from the number combination revealed. Similarly a selection of an improper play by the offensive player will produce a disadvantageous result. It will be understood, however, that the chart may be made up on various theories of operation, and the device of the invention is not limited in its use to a particular chart arrangement.

Panel ll may be supplied with any desired auxiliary devices such as pivoted pointers 4i and 42 to record the number of the down, and the number of the play respectively, a complete rotation of pointer 42 for example indicating the end of a quarter of play.

Also, where the device is used for other games, the surface of panel II will be supplied with markings appropriate to that game, such as the base ball diamond indicated at 45 in Fig. 4, and indicators such as 46 and 41 for counting balls and strikes, the operative elements of the device remaining the same except that the play indicia 48 and chart 49 will be made appropriate for the game being simulated.

We claim:

1. A game apparatus which comprises a panel, a pair of indicators movably mounted beneath the panel, each indicator being provided with a set of play selecting indicia and a set of result determining indicia in fixed relation to each other on the indicator, an opening in the panel beneath which the result determining sets of indicia on both indicators are moved in juxtaposition, means normally obscuring the result determining indicia positioned beneath said opening, a pair of play selecting openings formed in said panel, one above each indicator and beneath which the play selecting indicia of that indicator is moved, means for manually and separately moving said indicators to register a selected play indicium with each of said play selecting openings, and means to render visible in said first named opening, in juxtaposition, that result determining indicia of each indicator positioned therebeneath solely as the result of said play selecting movements of the indicators.

2. A game apparatus which comprises, a panel, a pair of disks mounted for rotation beneath the panel, said panel being provided with an opening overlying a peripheral portion of each disk, each disk being provided with a series of numbers arranged to be alternatively positioned beneath said opening upon rotation of the disk, means normally obscuring the numbers presented at the opening, a pair of play selecting openings formed in said panel, one above each disk, a series of play indicating indicia carried by each disk in fixed relation to the same numbers thereon and selectively registrable with said play selecting openings upon rotation of the disks, means for manually and separately rotating said disks to register a selected play indicium with each of said play selecting openings, and means to render visible in said first named opening that number on each disk which is associated with the selected play indicating indicia and positioned beneath said first named opening solely as the result of said play selecting rotations of the disks.

3. A game apparatus which comprises, a panel, a pair of disks mounted for rotation beneath said panel, said panel being provided with an opening overlying a peripheral portion of each disk, each disk being provided with a series of cut-out numbers arranged to be alternatively positioned beneath said opening upon rotation of the disk, a translucent screen covering said opening and normally hiding the cut-out numbers presented at the opening, a pair of play selecting openings formed in said panel, one above each disk, 2, series of play indicating indicia carried by each disk in fixed relation with the cut-out numbers carried by that disk and selectively registrable with said play selecting openings upon rotation of the disks, means for manually and separately rotating said disks to register a selected play indicium with each of said play selecting'openings, an electrically operated light positioned beneath said disks and in line with said first named opening, and means to actuate said light to cast on said screen an image of that cut-out number on each disk which is associated with the selected play indicating indicia and positioned beneath said screen solely as the result of said play selecting rotations of the disks.

4. A game apparatus which comprises, a rectangular frame, top and bottom panels carried by said frame and forming therewith a shallow box, a pair of spindles rotatably mounted in the top panel and extending into the box, a disk secured to each spindle within the box, each spindle being provided with an operating knob outwardly of the top panel, said top panel being provided with an opening overlying a peripheral portion of each disk, each disk being provided with a series of cut-out numbers arranged to be alternatively positioned beneath said openingupon rotation of the disk, a translucent screen covering said opening and normally hiding the cut-out numbers presented at the opening, a pair of play selecting openings formed in said panel, one above each disk, a series of play indicating indicia carried by each of the disks in fixed relation to the cut-out numbers carried by that disk and selectively registrable with said play selecting openings upon rotation of said disks by means of said knobs, a cylindrical support extending inwardly from the side of. the frame beneath said disks and with its inner end positioned substantially beneath said first named opening, an electric light bulb mounted at the inner end of said support, batteries carried in said cylinder in circuit with said light bulb and switch means operable from the outside of said frame to close the circuit through said batteries and bulb to light the latter and cast on said screen an image of the cut-out number on each disk position beneath said screen as the result of said play selecting rotations of the. disks.

GEORGE P. ALDERMAN. HERBERT H. FREDRICK. 

